How do you know when you're happy? What's one bad habit that makes you miserable? Find open-ended questions on Thought Questions daily. A gorgeous photograph complements each question. The site provides a space for you to answer these questions online or not. Maximize the benefits of self-reflection by taking the time to think! Visit this site daily, weekly, or monthly. There are over 900 questions and photos to contemplate, and they post a new one daily. There are advertisements between pictures, but their arrangement is such that they are not visible on the screen unless you are scrolling through the pictures. The public is able to answer the questions on the site, so you may want to only use this on an adult's computer.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

This is the perfect site to start your students' day or end your day with them. Use these questions as writing prompts or quick writes. You may want to ask students to choose their favorite and form small groups to discuss their answers. Post some of the same questions on bulletin boards. Discussing or debating these questions would be a powerful community builder at the beginning of the year or when forming new small groups. To avoid the advertising, have your question on the screen before projecting it on your screen or whiteboard. IF your class includes gifted students, they may react well to such thought-provokers. Encourage them to collect favorite prompts and responses in a writing journal or "idea bin" to use at times when they are ahead of the class or need extra writing challenges.

Create interactive timelines of geographically-located events on Google Maps and share them on the web for free. Hover over events on the Google map (or use Google Earth) to enlarge and view a summary of relevant information. Click play to scroll through events in chronological order. Create your own or browse many of the timelines on the site. No registration is necessary to view timelines already created by others. Sign up with an email account to create or comment on timelines. Create a new timeline, including a title, select a category, and add as many stops on the timeline as you wish. Share using Facebook, Twitter or an RSS feed. Click "embed/share" to copy a url to share with others or an embed code to use in a blog, wiki, or other site. Choose from three privacy level settings to customize viewing options. Be aware: the comments are not moderated, so please preview.

In the Classroom

Consider creating a class account with a single login and password. Ask students to initial their timelines as well to indicate ownership. There are many ways to include this in class. Every topic in history, literature, sciences, and the arts has dates and recorded events. Use your interactive whiteboard or projector to learn about the history of the Olympics, famous people, events, literature, and more. Have students create timelines to share research projects. Use the timeline as a visual tool to discuss events in literary works or the life of a scientist, political figure, or pop artist. Create animal life cycles mapped to their habitat, author or presidential biographies, or even timelines of the events and causes leading to a war. Make a timeline using local, national, or international current events. Elementary students could even interview grandparents and create a class timeline about their grandparents' generation for Grandparents' Day. For collaboration, link up with another classroom in another town (or another country) to build a timeline that shares events in each local area so students can see what was happening at the same time in another location (maybe in the opposite hemisphere: compare weather and seasons!) Students can use the timeline as a visual aid during presentations. Student groups can work on different aspects of the same time period to share with the rest of the class. For example, in studying World War II, one student group can create a timeline of Japanese occupation, another of the German occupation, and so forth. The timelines are perfect to share on your interactive whiteboard or projector as well as on a class wiki.

Challenge your gifted students by having them create mapped timelines of contrasts: The life cycles (and locations) of two migrating species, the events leading to the end of World War II in Europe and the Pacific, the lives of two famous Americans from two different centuries. They could embed the results in a wiki page so other students can view and comment (or ask questions).

This CurriConnects list offers books for student independent reading about leaders. This list of leaders includes a wide sampling from politics to literature and the arts to entertainment. CurriConnects thematic book lists include ISBN numbers for ordering or searching, interest grade levels, ESL/ELL levels and Lexiles '® to match student independent reading levels to challenge, not frustrate. Don't miss other CurriConnects themes being added regularly. If your school or public library does not have the books, try interlibrary loan!

In the Classroom

Use this list as you study any topic that features leaders: the founding fathers, famous scientists, and much more. Encourage students to read about leaders in diverse fields - including the one you are studying - to compare and discuss what makes someone a successful leader and why people rise to the top among their peers across time, place, and circumstance. You could also form an afterschool book club around this list or use the nonfiction listings as practice with informational texts.

Set your sights high to learn world languages! Find both visual and audio lessons. Choose a language from Chinese, Dutch, Japanese, Polish, Russian, or Spanish. A list of tutorials appears including the tutorial's author and short description of lessons. Learn colors, counting, days of the week, common phrases, or more challenging language skills. Practice speaking using the microphone tab and say words on your own. Click on the links in the tabs of the tutorials to try the interactives: matching games, flashcards, and tic tac toe.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

This is a wonderful site to use with students to get a taste of other languages, including during study of world geography or cultures. Assign different tutorials that complement classroom activities. Share this site on your class website or blog as a resource for practice at home. Use this site on your interactive whiteboard to introduce and review world language terms. Obviously this site has many uses in the world language classroom. But this tool could also be used as enrichment for students or even an after-school club! Your verbal-linguistic gifted students would also enjoy learning and comparing basics in several languages. If you have ESL/ELL students who speak one of these languages, invite others to learn basics to converse with and respect their peers.

DigitWhiz is an amazing math program (set up like a game) that guides mastery in five key math skills: multiplication, division, integer operations, like terms, and solving operations. It is geared for ages 8+. Playing the interactives allows the program to evaluate skills and prescribe activities leading to mastery and development. This tool differentiates the difficulty levels for each student. Activities are easy to follow and include directions. Set up an account for an entire classroom to view class or individual student progress. Import names from a current list or add names manually. The full site is in Flash so does not work on iOS devices; however, there is a link to a free iPad version.

In the Classroom

Demonstrate the site on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Create a classroom account and allow students to use the program on classroom computers. Share this site with parents to use at home. Parents can create their own account. Use this site as a math intervention resource for students that need additional practice in mastering math skills addressed by this program. More advanced students could use this site for enrichment and advancement as this site caters to students' current levels.

Join Aviva, Chris, Martin, Jimmy, and Koki on their quest to save the animals of our world. Based on the PBS television show, explore biology, zoology, and ecology of our planet. You will also learn small ways to make a big impact on saving our world. With a login, you can save points earned from games and receive special powers from animals to compete and survive in the games using your avatar. You do not need any email account to register/sign in. Explore the avatar creation area, games, creaturepedia, habitats, and videos to help learn about animals. Click on the Teachers Link (For Grownups) at the top of the page to find lesson plans, printable PDFs, objectives, and more.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Capture kids' interest in biology, zoology, and ecology with Wild Kratts. Joining in adventures with the gang, allows students to learn about animals, habitats, and the planet. Use this site as a resource in science. Share the videos and/or interactives on your projector or interactive whiteboard. Add the site as an enrichment area for everyone to explore. Use the adventures to inspire either narrative or expository writing. Use as a technology resource for digging in deeper for your common core content area. With using your avatar, students can experience and make connections with each of the animals given. ESL/ELL and learning support students will find this site useful with reading, video, and demonstrations of the different featured animals. Your science club will enjoy the experiences of the Wild Kratts. Using the area you live in, have students work in groups to study the animals, birds, reptiles, fish, and arthropods. Create a wiki with the research of your area. Or have students create their own blogs highlighting what they have learned. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Pen.io, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration. If you are teaching younger students and looking for an easy way to integrate technology and check for understanding, challenge your students to create a blog using EasyBlog, reviewed here. Share your research and stories with other classes in your own school, students' families, and more.

Create a "fake" Facebook-style page for anyone or anything! No membership required! Give your page a title and add an image from your computer. (They insert an image for you if you do not select one.) Of course you will need to use a Creative Commons or other copyright-safe image. You can also use autoselect from a websearch, edit the profile, and your page is almost ready. You must add at least one post and one friend to save work. Choose "save" from the options on top right side of the page, enter a password, and your unique url for your Fakebook page appears. Be sure to copy and save this link as it is the only time it is given in the setup process. Here is an example created in less than a minute. Page creation is quick and easy with a small learning curve. Flash is needed only to watch the introduction video, not use the site/tool. There is a downloadable Word doc "startup guide" for those who prefer written, illustrated directions.This site includes advertising.

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Engage and create interest in classroom learning with Fakebook. This site is wonderful for creating interest in many subjects. In social studies, instead of a typical biographical report have students create a Fakebook page about their famous person. Write about presidents, founding fathers, famous scientists or artist, a civil war soldier, and much more. Have students create a timeline of any historical event (the page should be named for the event). Use Fakebook to outline the plot of a book, play, or film, then share with students while studying the material. To use Fakebook to study literature, create a page for the central character, book's author, or the setting of the book or play. For a unique twist is science class, create a Fakebook page for a periodic element or another science topic. Use the page to describe "the life" of that atom or element. In world language classes, have students do this activity (about themselves) in the second language they are learning. Create a Fakebook page for the first day of school to introduce yourself to students or at Open House for parents. Challenge students to create and share a page about themselves during the first week of school. Share a Fakebook page with students to demonstrate proper netiquette and social sharing. Be sure to share a rubric with students for all expectations of what should be included on their page. Make Fakebook one of the options for your gifted students doing projects beyond the regular curriculum. With no membership required, this tool is simple enough for younger gifted students who have parent permission to post work to the web. We could pretend that they do not know what Facebook looks like, but we would be deluding ourselves!

Scrumy is an easy to use project management or planning tool. Create a project by adding the name you want to the Scrumy URL. Or have Scrumy name your project for you by clicking on the "New Free Project" button. Once your page opens, a prompt guides you to click on "Create a Story." A story is really a grouping of tasks. It's a category or goal that you can split into multiple tasks. Prompts guide you through setting up the rest of your tasks. You can assign tasks to different people. The color coding allows you to quickly see who is doing what. There are To Do, In Progress, Verify, and Done columns to work with. Once you've learned the steps, you can hide the tutorial. If you need assistance, there is lots of help on their About page. If you don't see what you need there, their email support is almost instantaneous!This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Are you responsible for multiple tasks at school over and above teaching? This program will help you stay organized. Teach project planning and sequencing tasks. Have students use this for planning "how-to" demonstration speeches, or students with IEPs can work toward goals with intermediate steps listed on Scrumy. Your gifted-but-disorganized students would benefit from trying this tool. You might even want to model and use it with an entire class during major projects to teach time management. When your students are working in small groups on research projects, presentations, and even literature circles, this would be a great program for them to stay organized. All you have to do is share the URL for others to see, move, create, and change tasks.

This Elementary Test Prep Center for Social Studies website gives information to help students, teachers, and parents gain more information and preparation for specifically the New York Standardized tests. The information given is applicable to any standardized test. Find grade level resources for 3, 4, and 5 in the areas of lessons, practice, interactive games, teacher resources, and literature for every standard given. Tips for parents include ideas to help families better prepare their children for standardized testing.

In the Classroom

Help your students gain confidence in standardized test taking. Many resources by grade level offer activities in lessons, practice, interactive games, literature, and teacher resource. Your students will feel better prepared with practice tests. Use lessons on your interactive whiteboard to share with the whole group. Use practice activities and interactive games for center time. Post this site on your class website and use for remediation, extra practice, or enrichment. Set goals for your students to finish certain activities. The lessons and practice allow students to progress at their own speed, offering many opportunities for differentiation. You may want to have students record in a daily task journal, reflecting upon the activities they accomplished and the reasons for the activities. Explore literature and resources to widen your teaching repertoire.

View portraits of classrooms in many cultures 2004-2012, taken by photographer Julian Germain. The collection is actually from a book. As Archive Magazine reviewer Tom Shakespeare explains, "By presenting different pupils, different schools, different year groups, Germain asks questions about contemporary educational practices and social divisions." The photos are clearly deliberate portraits, not candids, but offer a glimpse into other cultures and a chance to ask questions about why a class ( and classroom) might look the way it does, inviting discussion about what we have in common and how each culture conducts and values education.

In the Classroom

Share these photos as a writing prompt about cultural differences in a world cultures class or as a way to get students thinking before writing an essay about their "dream" school. Use the common experience of school as an entry point into conversation about cross-cultural understanding. Share on a projector or whiteboard as students use powers of observation to notice what might be different about life in another culture and how school reflects a culture's value systems. Have them write a blog post about what they see.If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Pen.io, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration. Use this site In art class or even as a media literacy exercise. Have students jot down the words they would use to describe the emotions they see/feel in these images. What message is the photographer conveying about school? Extend the discussion by challenging students to take their own photos to portray "school." Share the photos on a class wiki, blog, or online scrapbook using a tool such as MyScrapNook, reviewed here.

Create interactive, choose your own adventure (branching) style stories with inklewriter. This site is ideal for anyone to create a story and then share with others via a unique URL. These stories allow for others to create their own path or choose an existing one. Begin by choosing to read stories or create your own. Type parts of the story including the title, author, beginning, introduction, and add sections as needed. After each paragraph is the option to create different outcomes of the story, offering choices the reader makes. The site contains excellent tutorials for getting started with stories. When finished, share the URL for your story using Twitter or Facebook or copy the URL to share and bookmark as you wish. Of course, your "story" need not be fiction! You could also write an opinion piece with branches for people to ask click on questions about facets of your argument! NOTE: When you click to begin writing, you should click SIGN IN and choose to make a new account. Do this before you start writing in order to be able to save. The tool will then save your work as you go along. Although you do not HAVE to sign in before you start, it is risky to sign up later! Here is a sample to show just ONE way to use Inklewriter besides the obvious use for storytelling. Inklewriter has also made it easier for teachers to sign up students WITHOUT student email addresses. Read the directions about how to do this on the landing page by scrolling down and finding "Sign-up and email addresses."This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

View stories on the site together to understand the components of the site and discuss how different choices in characters and settings lead to different story outcomes. (Be sure to preview stories before sharing, since there is "public"' content.) Watch the tutorials together on your interactive whiteboard (or projector) before students begin to write stories. Use a graphic organizer to "map out" the story before writing. Create a short story together as a class to become familiar using the site. Assign a group of students to create an interactive story each week to share on your classroom website or blog. Have students create a story map before beginning a story on inklewriter; use a tool such as 25 Language Arts Graphic Organizers, reviewed here. Create class stories to teach about literature, geography, reading comprehension, history, science concepts, and more. As a more "serious" approach, use Inklewriter to present opinion pieces where you take a position and allow readers to click on questions about it. They could also click on statements expressing opposing views so you can write counterarguments to their points. This could end up being a powerful way to present an argument and evidence as required by Common Core writing standards. A graphic organizer for planning and organizing evidence is a must! Teachers of gifted could use this for students to develop elaborate fictional or informational pieces. If you work with students who struggle, scaffold with a template for them to organize their thoughts.

Write and publish a very simple blog post or writing piece instantly. This is a simple tool and requires NO membership. Pen.io is also ideal for collaborative drafts. All you need to do to create a page is to choose a name and a password for editing. (You may have to try a few names to find one that is unique.) You receive a URL you can give to others along with the password to be able to collaborate. Or simply share the url for them to read only. You can include an image by dragging and dropping.

In the Classroom

Publish student writing projects such as short stories, poems, and reports. Publish study guides before tests. Publish directions for assignments. With the options for password protected editors, students could post a collaborative report and have others help edit the work. This is an easy way to set up a student blog, especially if the focus is on writing rather than multimedia. Have students write a progressive story where they each add a portion. Practice vocabulary in English or world languages by having students add sentences throughout the year, continuously using the newest words. Just make sure that students use the same password for all the stories started in a class.

Looking for an easy to use "how to" guide? You must visit Snapguide! Find various topics: Sports & Fitness, Technology, Cooking, Music, Arts & Crafts, Gardening, and countless others. You can view all of the content of this site without joining. Create your own "how to" guide on any topic. It's a "snap" to create the directions with pictures. Use your computer or iOS device to create a guide. Download the app onto your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to create a guide for explaining anything! Each page contains a picture and text to explain the parts for your guide.

In the Classroom

Share the ready-made snapguides in various classes: family and consumer science, music, art, photography, science, computer, and more! Create your own snapguides to share with your class on any subject matter. ESL/ELL and other special needs students will learn better seeing the photos along with the instructions. Use Snapguide to explain a lesson or a project that has multiple directions. Use Snapguide for directions for parents. Create a snapguide for your students when leaving plans for a substitute teacher. Students can also create their own snapguides to use as presentations and even for sequencing practice. These re the perfect prompts for writing and giving informative, how-to speeches. Students can explore the guides available and follow directions or even evaluate their effectiveness. Have cooperative learning groups create their own snapguides to share a new topic with the class. Encourage students to use Snapguide to illustrate their math solutions, discuss the completion and science behind a lab experiment, or show cause and effect.

Your spoken words are instantly changed to written text. You need to use the Chrome browser for this site to work properly. Just click on the microphone and speak. Follow simple directions and immediately begin to dictate. You need to the Chrome browser for this site to work properly. As soon as speech is ready, it appears in red, and you push ok. Corrections are suggested in red. If your speech is not recognized, there is an alternatives button to help you dictate correctly. You can also click on the speaker button to hear the written words played back to you. Click the blue arrow to move the text down to the larger text box. There you can store several phrases or sentences together. Choose to print, email, or tweet your message. Talk Typer is also available in a variety of languages. Be sure to speak slowly and clearly. This is best used with short phrases or sentences.This site includes advertising.

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Talk Typer is a very versatile tool, for students, parents, and teachers alike. Bypass poor typing skills, dysgraphia, dyslexia, and physical disabilities. Use this tool in emails, documents, or anything requiring typed text. Use in your writing class so students can either write or edit their work. Use when you are in a hurry with emails requiring long text. Use for your newsletters or family emails. Share this on your class website and at Back to School Night. Emerging literacy students will enjoy the success they have with their oral language into written word. Improve content and forget about mechanics of writing or typing. Focus in on grammar and mechanics after seeing the recognized mistakes. Include this website on every tool bar and as a favorite on your class web page. ELL students can speak English, play it back, and correct it until it "sounds right" and expresses their ideas correctly.

Write, read, and share digital books with Widbook. Create a digital book that contains text, images, and videos. You can rearrange content on pages and upload images, etc. Invite others to make contributions to your books. Create a profile on the site to begin your book or collaborate with others (or you can skip this step). Books you create become a part of your profile. If you allow it, other Widbook members can add content and or comments to your books. You can change setting to allow comments and additions on a book or not. Likewise, you can search for others' books and contribute to their books. The only way to share your books is with others logged into Widbook or other social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest).

In the Classroom

Create books on any subject for your students to review or learn. Set up a whole class account or use individual accounts with those 13 and older if school policy allows it. Challenge students to create a book as a multi-media presentation instead of a typical book report. This would be great to use for a student/star of the week presentation. Each week add a student's information. Do this together as a class on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Create a link (and log in) on classroom computers for students to view the book when they wish. Use this tool for groups to collaborate on science concept tales, poetry books, general writing, math problem solve-its, and more. ANY grade can use this tool with a whole class account, depending on the amount of direction by the teacher. Have students create a book as an end of the year culminatng/review project.

Create interactive, text-based games with this simple tool. Perhaps you remember a text-based game called "Adventure" from back in the early days of computers. Be sure to watch the tutorial on the home page that also teaches you how to navigate the stories themselves. By clicking on the "Learn More" when you're signed out, or the "About Us" when you're signed in, you can view the "cheat sheet" that will certainly make your first creative attempt at Playfic more enjoyable. Experiment with Playfic games created by others and time yourself. if you get stuck, you can look at the source code. Create your own Playfic for any topic that interests you, whether it's fiction or not. Note that there is no moderation on games created by others, so preview before sharing with young people.

In the Classroom

"Gamification" of learning is a hot topic in 21st century learning. Use this simple tool to make it happen. Use for any digital storytelling: fact or fiction. In social studies, have students create an interactive game based on life during the Depression or any historic era. Have them create a "Where in the world is ..." for geography. World language students could make a simple game (in the language they are studying) about daily life. Gifted students will love creating games on their favorite topics, so make this a research-and-create-a-game approach for independent projects. Science students could make a game about what might happen in certain weather or life as a fossil. Have your language arts students create mystery or survival stories or even a different ending to a story you've read together. Warning: all stories are PUBLIC and your students will be able to view other's stories. You'll either want to have a class account or monitor this closely.

This Elementary Test Prep for English Language Arts website gives information to help students, teachers, and parents gain more information and prepare specifically for the New York State tests. The information, however, is applicable to any standardized test. Find grade level resources for grades K - 4 ELA: lessons, practice, interactive games, teacher resources, and literature for every standard. Tips for parents include ideas to help families better prepare their children for standardized testing. Click to find the tutorials and practice pages for your desired content. If you are looking for a specific topic, you can use the search feature for the particular skill that you need help with.This site includes advertising.

Wix makes creating your own website EASY! Wix has over 100 visually rich templates for you to choose. Or you may choose a blank template and upload your own material. The easy, "drag and drop" elements allow even the novice technology user to create their own website. Choose to have your website in Flash or HTML. Wix does all the work for either of these. Choose from 100s of images, fonts, menus, music files, buttons, and widgets, or upload your own. There are video tutorials that will take you from beginner to website designer in 8 steps!This site includes advertising.

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Your students, 13 and over, may register by email if you want them to create a page to present a project, or for club web pages. Use a whole class account for students under 13. This program would be nice for developing student portfolios, small group presentations, even journals about career research. Create a Wix website page to publish biographical information about any historical figure in any subject area. Use Wix to create pages about characters in a novel. Create pages about scientists and their contributions including reactions of others to their discovery or invention. Research why these inventions were particularly important and the scientific knowledge that changed as a result. Create a page about artists, musicians, politicians, etc. using the same guidelines as above with scientists. Challenge students to step into the person's character to create an informative understanding about the person and their contribution. In upper elementary grades, have all students generate a starter page offline about a famous person (or people) you are studying. Then vote on one to publish as a class using this online tool. Have teens begin a "Me" portfolio in middle grades, one that they can continue to develop as they approach college and/or career. Encourage them to showcase links to online projects, favorite images they have taken or created, artwork, music, writing samples, and personal interests. This is the ideal way to build a positive digital footprint that students can actually use well into the future. If you teach gifted students, encourage them to add suitable projects from your class to their portfolio site, especially projects that involve connections with the "real world."

Find a wealth of resources for using drama in the ESL/ELL classroom. The same activities can also be useful for other subjects. The improvisation resources are especially exciting, offering definitions, examples of activities, links, and visual examples of how you can use improvisational techniques. In addition, information and activities on using plays, process drama, and reader's theater for language teaching abound. Use play writing for another aspect of language teaching. There is a complete curriculum for offering an independent class in drama for ESL/ELL students. Although this site may appear plain vanilla, there are sprinkles throughout, making this tool very valuable and informative.

In the Classroom

Use this site as the starting point for group projects like having the students write and produce their own play(s). This is a great find for gifted students as well as students studying any modern language as the play writing and acting techniques can easily be adapted. Challenge cooperative learning groups to create videos of the plays they write and produce. Share the videos on a site such as TeacherTube reviewed here.

Empower your students to get involved and solve some of the world's pressing problems. Join Koshland's Museum of Science Challenges. Join in by learning new skills, thinking critically, and solving a problem. Challenges include background information. Look at the past challenges and discover the critical thinking and unique problem solving that won. Peek into future challenges to lead your students in new directions. Find resources, lesson plans, activities, virtual field trips, and web quests. Share your challenges and solutions on Facebook.

In the Classroom

In your classroom, offer challenges first as a problem based learning situation. Have students discover the background information and thought processes involved. Using these skills, apply to your own community. Start challenges at your school, community, state, or country level. Create a challenges competition at your school. Explore the teacher resources that apply to your classes.